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HCS Faculty in the News!

Dr. Mark Loux and Dr. Laura Lindsey are in the news again! See the articles, TakeActionOnWeeds and Soybeans take it on the chin below.

TakeActionOnWeeds

February 23, 2015By Harold Watters, OSU Extension Field Agronomist

The United Soybean Board is the organization that uses the soybean checkoff funds to benefit U.S. wide soybean growers. One concern that the Board has taken on is the rising level of resistant weeds across all soybean areas. As we went through the ALS years of Pursuit and Classic we saw the development of the large number of resistant weeds to those products. Then we entered the RoundupReady era, which at first was our savior, then our downfall. One thing researchers and savvy soybean growers learned — it’s just a matter of time until resistant weeds develop.

So the United Soybean Board has developed some very nice materials to fight resistant weeds. Mark Loux our Extension Weed Specialist was able to get 2,000 packets of this new material for Ohio and they have been very popular at our winter pesticide re-certification training programs. The new campaign to manage resistant weeds is called “Take Action” against herbicide resistant weeds. The website to get more information: http://takeactiononweeds.com. I especially like the Site of Action chart: http://takeactiononweeds.com/understanding-herbicides/site-of-action-loo....

There are no new herbicides – this is not quite a true statement, as there are many new names, but it is the active ingredient that is important. The rest is about marketing. So the site of action chart will help determine the active ingredient in a commercial product. I still remember as we were discovering the resistant marestail across Ohio, a farmer told me he had the solution to his marestail problem. He had been using “Roundup” until he learned it didn’t work any more, so he switched to “Buccaneer.” Only after he applied the product to his marestail, and failed to control the weed, did he come to understand that Buccaneer has the exact same active ingredient as Roundup. This chart will help avoid those mistakes.

One other very nice benefit of the packet, and also available on the website, is the reference to the 11 worst (for resistance) weeds.

Common waterhemp — a pigweed species, found in Ohio
Palmer amaranth — found in isolated areas of Ohio, an imported problem
Horseweed — we call this Marestail — you know it’s here
Giant ragweed
Common ragweed
Common lambsquarters
Kochia — often seen out west, but here in Ohio too
And then the grasses — no less of a problem — including Italian ryegrass. Barnyard grass, Johnsongrass, and Giant foxtail.
All of these are resistant to at least two different products or active ingredient types. The worst offender on the list is Barnyard grass, resistant at nine sites of action. Next is Common waterhemp with six, then Palmer amaranth and Marestail with five different sites of action within the plant demonstrating resistance.

Do use the chart to help plan your herbicide action plan. Use a broad spectrum herbicide, apply multiple sites of action to the same weed, and do not overuse one product. The last item in the Take Action packet is a pledge to identify your weeds, and to do better. My mother always said your goal in life is to do better — this applies to your soybean crop too.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects the nation's soybean production for the upcoming growing season to lag by about 4 percent compared with last year, but in Ohio, yield suppression could be even greater, if past weather events are any indication.

A study co-authored by a field crops expert at Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, in Wooster, concludes that extreme temperature and precipitation variations in the Buckeye State cost farmers here $2.9 billion over the past 20 years, with every degree rise in temperature translating into a yield reduction of about 2.4 percent.

"Missouri suffered the most negative impact with an estimated loss of $5 billion during the past 20 years, while Ohio had the next highest loss, at $2.9 billion," Laura Lindsey, a soybean and small grains specialist at Ohio State, said before touting some crop-management strategies to help turn the tide.

"Strategies include the development of new cultivars and hybrids, the use of altered maturity groups, changes in planting dates, the use of cover crops, and greater management of crop residues from the previous year," Lindsey said.

In its latest crop forecast, the USDA called for a similar downturn, by 4 percent, in corn production for 2015, though that forecast would still result in the third largest corn crop in U.S. history. Meanwhile, the federal agency expects wheat production this year to go up by 5 percent thanks to improved weather conditions, although a drought in the southern Plains persists.

Dietary guidelines

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has come out with its latest recommendations of what Americans should and should not be eating, and some of the advice is contradictory, not to mention inconsistent with earlier recommendations.

Eggs, long considered a food no-no because of their cholesterol level, are now thought to be just fine, with cholesterol no longer a nutrient we should be worried about.

Meanwhile, the committee has lashed out at saturated fat, found in many dairy products, and advises reduced consumption of red meat and many processed meats, not what producers of beef and pork want to hear.

At the same time, the group is promoting as healthy the Mediterranean diet, which is traditionally high in red meat.

Soft drinks, most of which contain sky-high levels of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, don't get much love by the committee, but the group said it couldn't find enough evidence to pass judgment on energy drinks, which are high in caffeine.

SWCD grants

The Crawford County Soil and Water Conservation District is offering a pair of grant programs for landowners.

In the Upper Brokensword Creek, Loss Creek and Allen Run watersheds within the county, landowners can receive incentives to install sub-main tiles with water-control structures or for the repair of existing tile. Cost share is 75 percent not to exceed $10,000.

Applications are offered on a first-come, first-served basis for projects completed before April 30.

Landowners in the Lake Erie watershed also are eligible for incentives to install sub-main tile and tile-control structures, through the Lake Erie Nutrient Reduction Program. Cost share is 90 percent not to exceed $4,000, with applications being accepted through March 15.